Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

In this debate today the most important thing that we have to remember is that we are talking about some of the most vulnerable older Australians in this country. There have been 335 deaths in aged-care facilities in Victoria and in the last 24 hours there have been an additional 24 deaths, of which 21 have been linked to aged-care homes. These are the very stark figures.

We already know that the Morrison government don't like accountability, they don't like transparency and they're not capable of having a competent minister for aged care who actually understands the sector and is prepared to develop a plan with the sector to ensure that vulnerable older Australians are safe. After seven years of Liberal governments and four failed ministers, we've seen Mr Morrison call a royal commission into his own Liberal government's failings. The interim report has been brought down, and there might be warning bells, with 'Neglect' in the title, that there is a real crisis in the aged-care sector.

We have some fantastic staff and some very good homes, but we know they're under pressure. And what have we seen? We've seen nothing but evidence day after day, week after week, being provided to the royal commission demonstrating very clearly that the government has no plan. They were warned in March of the issues that the aged-care sector were confronting in ensuring that they were able to provide the care, had the skills, training of their staff and had adequate resourcing to ensure that their residents were going to be cared for and looked after. But what have we got? We've still got a situation where even one of the commissioners, Commissioner Pagone, has already acknowledged that this sector is not ready to deal with COVID-19.

Again, we've seen a display of government senators coming in, saying, 'Oh, this is just the Labor Party. All they're doing is trying to make political points.' Well, if that's what you call caring about older Australians—and Senator Antic mentioned people with dementia; well, I've not heard the minister for aged care or the Prime Minister talk about those people who are living with dementia and how they are particularly being cared for in aged-care homes. We know that dementia is the second leading cause of death in this country, but we haven't seen any real action.

We've had the minister come into this place day after day. We've seen Mr Morrison in the other place trying to deflect blame onto the Premier of Victoria and blame everyone else, because: 'I'm all spin, smoke and mirrors—nothing to do with me. All we do is fund it, but we're not going to take any responsibility.' Well, you might continue to talk that sort of nonsense, but I can assure you: the Australian people see through you all. They know, because it's their parents, their grandparents, their aunties, their uncles and their loved ones who have been dying because this government failed to take all the warnings, all the advice, given to them directly by the sector, the unions and this side of the chamber that they have failed. And instead of the minister acknowledging the mistakes and coming into this place with a real plan to restore the confidence of the sectors, the confidence of the workers and the confidence of the Australian people, we've seen nothing at all. And the people who are suffering most are those who are residing in residential care.

This virus has always been acknowledged as being very contagious and, yes, we do have to learn to live with it. But in doing so, you have to have a plan in place. You have to make sure you have in place the most stringent training, skills and preparedness for those people caring for older Australians. That's your role as a minister. That's your role as the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister made a commitment to the Australian people at election time that he was going to make older Australians his No. 1 priority. Well, if this is how he prioritises, if this is his government's performance, if this is his minister's commitment, then God help us. God help us if you are ranked further down the list of his priorities. It's actually a national disgrace— (Time expired)